According to Pharmajet Blog, a surprising number of pharmacists suffer from trypanophobia – the fear of giving injections, which most in their profession have to do these days during flu season. As Pharmajet notes, the Americans with Disabilities Act generally does not help the needle-phobic pharmacist because companies have a right to define the essential functions of a job.

The Federal Arbitration Act (and the law of virtually all States that have enacted a version of the Uniform Arbitration Act) favor arbitration. Contractual agreements that clearly and unmistakably set forth an intent to arbitrate disputes normally will be enforced (barring a judicial “lapse of judgment”). Key benefit: in arbitration, there is no jury! Employers know that juries are fickle, and may decide an issue based on empathy and anger rather than the rules of law enunciated in the jury instructions. Continue Reading One! Two! Three! Four! What Do You Say We’re Fighting For? Arbitration!

My brilliant law partner, Fiona Ong, explained last week about why it is unwise to treat a reduction in force (“RIF”) as a “golden opportunity” to rid yourself of those pesky under-performers whose deficiencies were not documented properly. (We do know why there is no documentation, BTW. Those underperformers often are gifted at deflecting responsibility, and honest performance evaluations require, well, honest feedback, which unpleasant people abhor. For managers, who just want to do their jobs, it is much easier to select “meets expectations, meets, meets, meets” than lose hours debating the ratings.) Continue Reading Now that You Know that a RIF Is Not a “Magic Bullet” (Performance Management Advice for Managers in Five Easy Pieces)

Whether you are looking out your window at the wonder of snow or trying to prognosticate when it will hit, one thing is for sure. If you are in a state with mandatory sick leave, employees may be invoking their right to no-questions-asked leave when you otherwise prohibit any excuses. Such “no excuse” policies are common during snow events at businesses that must provide service – hospitals, property management companies, no-stop assembly lines. Think patients to be cared for, sidewalks to be cleared, machines that will seize without humans. Continue Reading Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful (I think I Need a Sick Day)!!

The 21st Century is in full swing. Yet, we still don’t quite know what it means to be a 21C workplace. We are told Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) will displace tasks performed by many (including lawyers) after we train the machines to perform our tasks.

Allegations of sexual harassment perpetrated by top officials are not new, nor are lawsuits or threats of lawsuits based on those allegations. Wise companies take such matters seriously and, if they conclude that the allegations have merit, take action not just to resolve the matter with the complaining party but to root out the problem so it does not reoccur. Fire the offender, change the culture and move forward. Continue Reading Boards of Directors in the Bullseye: #MeToo and the Fiduciary Duty

It has become an all too familiar story in this age of #MeToo (although this one has a twist, as you’ll see below): a supervisor using managerial authority to pressure a subordinate to give sexual favors. In this story, the employee claims the pressure started at hire, involved the supervisor demanding attention, favors, gifts and even food then escalating to demands for sex in the office. The employee needed the job and ultimately concluded that sex was the only performance metric that mattered because the clear implication was that the supervisor would ruin the employee if the employee did not comply. Continue Reading What, #MeToo???

Before I became a lawyer or even considered the profession, I was a waitress. I also was a feminist. I was 18 and working at a restaurant In Providence RI. Ronnie’s Rascal House! One of the line cooks constantly called me “honey, baby and sweetie.” Every time I put an order check on the wheel and spun it to him into the kitchen, he said it. One day I had had enough and I said, “I am not your honey or baby or sweetie.” I snapped those words. He looked at me stunned and said, “I am sorry. I had no idea.” After that we became very good friends. Continue Reading You Have To Believe It To See It!

The incessant rain on the East Coast, interspersed with weird calms of blue-sky sunniness, are jarring in ways that make one reflect. What I reflect upon these days is the speed with which people’s careers are destroyed, like a burst of rain displacing the sun, when they do something stupid that in “my old days” would fade away. Continue Reading Twitter Storms, Flash Floods, No Jobs

Post navigation

About this Blog

The Labor & Employment Report is your one-stop blog to learn about the latest developments in labor and employment law issues. Published by Shawe & Rosenthal LLP, Management’s Workplace Lawyers®, this blog informs human resource professionals, corporate counsel, business leaders, policy makers, journalists, judges, and other attorneys about critical labor and employment issues. The Labor & Employment Report closely tracks new laws and regulations, federal and state court employment/labor decisions, HR trends, and actions from relevant government agencies including the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor.

About the Firm

At Shawe Rosenthal LLP, we are proud of our national reputation as Management’s Workplace Lawyers. For more than 60 years, we have been representing management in the most complex labor law and employment matters. Our tenacious, results-oriented approach produces results in the courtroom, respect in agency proceedings and sound proactive guidance on workplace policy.Read More